IRA leader Gerry Adams has denied he was ever in the IRA. He has denied he authorised the torture and murder of mother of ten Jean McConville and he had nothing whatsoever to do with the carnage caused on Bloody Friday.

This is the picture of the French/German border and this is the border between France and Italy on the Mediterranean coast. By contrast, this is the international frontier between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic near Londonderry. Can you spot the difference? Yes, the UK/ROI border is the only international demarcation in Europe that is not clearly marked. The bilingual signpost in the foreground with the distance in kilometres indicates that the sign is in the Irish Republic. The ‘National Speed Limit Applies’ sign (a white circle with a black diagonal line seen 200 yards or so away) is in the United Kingdom. Somewhere in between those two signs is an international border, no less legitimate than any other in the EU. Unionists politicians and contributors to ATW have called for the border to be clearly identified like any other between two neighbouring sovereign territories. However, as usual, neither government has committed itself to doing so lest it upset the delusional souls who mark an ‘X’ next to the likes of Gerry Adams or Michelle Gildernew on their ballot papers.

Thus, it is hardly surprising if certain public agents find themselves operating outside their jurisdiction on the odd occasion and equally hypocritical of Sinn Fein/IRA (and any other lying, murdering republican scum outfit) in criticising them for their genuine mistake. After all, it is the result of their appeasement that signs clearly welcoming people to either the United Kingdom or the Irish Republic weren’t put in place years ago (preferably electrified lest any little separatist tries their version of artwork with a paint aerosol). Judging by the reaction of the Provo councillors, anyone would think a full-scale Iwojima invasion had just been authorised from Garnerville. Sinn Fein/IRA councillor in Donegal, Mick McMahon, is even calling for disciplianary action against the officers concerned. Mind you, it is a bit of progress from the days when policemen were shot in the back at close range in places like Lurgan. I suppose we should thank God for the smallest of mercies.

What action should be taken against these officers? None whatsoever. It was a genuine mistake that could have been avoided had the border been clearly marked. Any member of Sinn Fein like to call for their erection to mitigate the chances of a similar mistake in the future?

Had to laugh at the suggestion by the DUP (Developers Unionist Party) that their decision not to field a candidate in North Down was to help unionist unity!

The DUP has said it is still trying to come to an electoral arrangement with the Ulster Unionists over two seats currently represented by nationalists.

The party has announced it will not be fielding a candidate in North Down, currently represented by former Ulster Unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon.

It said it was doing so in the spirit of unionist cooperation.

It is not fielding little Peter Weir in North Down in order to try and secure the seat for Lady Hermon – she who has left the Ulster Unionists (!) and is standing as an Independent against her former party. This is, to put it crudely, the DUP shafting Sir Reg Empey by making certain the UUP cannot retain the seat. The DUP have no interest in unity, and this is another cynical ruse from the “£5 for your thoughts” Unionist Party.

Survivors of sex abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy told the head of the Church in Ireland today that he was a “lame duck cardinal” and should resign. Overturning a centuries-old tradition of deference towards the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Ireland, victims confronted Cardinal Seán Brady with their stark judgment during a face-to-face meeting at his residence in Armagh. They spared him most of the details of the torture they suffered at the hands of priests, including rape and beatings with metal straps that they had been forced to manufacture themselves in workshops.

Don’t see why. Brady is an impossible position and he should GO. These people have suffered enough and Brady remaining deepens their pain.

While President Obama once said a nuclear-armed Iran would be “unacceptable,” after more than a year in office it’s sobering to have to acknowledge that his administration has made no progress in implementing “crippling” sanctions on Iran, let alone halting Iran’s nuclear program. Even the rhetoric moved in the wrong direction – recently the administration downgraded their call for “crippling” sanctions to sanctions that “bite.”

Shockingly, as we learned last week, these “biting” sanctionswill no longer include actions that could actually change Iran’s behavior, including limiting Iran’s access to international capital markets and banking services or closing air space and waters to Iran’s national air and shipping lines. So the issue is not when the so-called sanctions will come (President Obama promised them in “weeks” today) but whether they will even “nibble.” And while the Obama administration was more than willing to use every parliamentary trick in the book to ram its government health care takeover through Congress, conversely, it has worked hard to stall bipartisan efforts to pass the Iran Sanctions Act.

Did you read that Moody’s, the International ratings agency, has downgraded five Greek banks due to a weakening in their financial strength and the country’s difficult economic outlook.

Moody’s said it downgraded their deposit and debt ratings due “to a weakening in the banks’ stand-alone financial strength and anticipated additional pressures stemming from the country’s challenging economic prospects in the foreseeable future.”

It named the banks as the National Bank of Greece, EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank and Emporiki Bank of Greece.

Watch the cash vanish…! The Greek banking system is a mess and EU efforts to stop the contagion seem doomed to fail. The truth is that divergent economies cannot exist within a fiscal union unless there is also a political union. Of course the political union is the endgame for the EU so in a strange way they must be loving all of this economic chaos.

Sorry to read that a 21-year-old man has leapt to his death from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York.

The man, whose name has not been released, jumped over barriers surrounding the observation deck during the evening rush hour, landing on the pavement in front of a Bank of America branch. The apparent suicide came as tourists and officer workers milled around the famous landmark at about 6.15pm.

Along with the Chrysler, the Empire State is such an amazing building and I cannot conceive how anyone would jump from the 86th floor to a certain and horrible death. Such a sad end to the young man’s life although it must have petrified any pedestrians.

One of the things about politics that most disgusts me is the LACK of probity in political life.

This is manifest here in Northern Ireland through the antics of the First Minister and DUP Leader Peter Robinson Peter Robinson and in particular this news reported yesterday that he was able to buy land at £5.

As you do. I mean property developers are noted for their generosity of spirit and the developer who sold Robinson the land at £5 had a reputation as a hard-nosed businessman. However presumably he was charmed by Peter and his wife Iris, since not only did he sell the land at £5 but he also gifted Iris £25,000 when she came looking it for her extra-curricular purposes.

Peter denies he has done anything wrong. All above board and nothing to see, just move along. He seems to be in a form of denial and hard questions remain unanswered.

1. WHY did a property developer decide to sell an asset valued at £75,000 to a leading politician for £5? Did that seem a little….odd?

2. For what reason did Mr Robinson acquire this piece of land?

3. Did Mr Robinson consider that the sale of this land to another developer for £5 would massively enhance the value of his garden or was that a surprise?

4. Why did Mr Robinson not register this land purchase as required at the Commons? I know he is not there very often but he could have mailed them if going to London is such a challenge for the part-time MP.

5. Did Mr Robinson not think it was inappropriate for he and his wife to sit on the local Council when this issue was being discussed and not say a word about their interest on the matter?

The stench of moral hypocrisy is staggering and I submit that this man has been in power for too long. He should leave the political stage now before this farce becomes a tragedy.

You do not defeat terrorism by rewarding terrorists, regardless of how many bleeding heart liberals argue otherwise. Want to know where that flawed approach leads to? Read UNIONISM DECAYED 1997-2007 - It's my first book and it explains what happens when you seeek to appease terrorists and call it peace. It's available right now for ATW readers so make sure you get your copy by emailing the editor! This is the book that dissents from the herd mentality that doing wrong can lead to being right. It doesn't and this book spells out WHY.

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